Improvement in the manufacture of saddle-cloths



RICHARD ALLrsoN,

or NEW YORK, NrY:

Letters Patent No. 86,798, dated February 9, 1869.

IMPROVEIVIENT IN THE MANUPACTURE 0F SADDLE-CLOTHS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent making pant of thesanfte.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD ALLIsoN, of the city,

county, and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in the Manufacture of Saddle-Cloths; and Ido hereby declarethat the fol` lowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

The object of my invention is to produce a cheap, tasteful, and durablesaddle-cloth,\vhicl1, while as light and cool for the horse as possible,is, at the same time, provided with ample and efcientpads or cushionsunder the bearing-parts of the saddle, whereby the back of the horse isprotected from injury, and the weight of the saddle and rider isdistributed over that portion of the back of the animal which is mostcapable of bearing it without detriment.

My invention consists- First, in a new and useful method or process forforming pads or cushions in or upon the' saddle-cloth, by laying twosheets or bats of felting-material together, lwith strips of non-feltingmaterial, such as tightly-woven cotton goods, for example, interposedbetween them, so' as to separate those portions from which it is desiredto form the covers or outside parts of the pads or cushions, from therest and from each other, tand felting the two sheets vor bats together,whereby there are left, at the points or places -where it is desired tohave 'pads or, cushions, pockets, slots, or flaps, between or upon whatwere originally the two said separate sheets. After. cutting out, fromthis' material, the saddle-cloth/ ofthe proper form and size, theseslots, pockets, or faps, are stuffed with some elastic, yieldingsubstance, and theirends, or their ends and sides, sewed Second, in theapplication of elastic sponge, a preparation of sponge, partly saturatedwith glycerine, for which a patent was granted to A. T. Moith, July 25,1865, to stuff the pads or cushions in a saddle-cloth, substantially ashereinafter specified. Third, in giving the proper form or curvature, tolit the back of a horse, to the saddle-cloth, and in part to the pads orcushions, by stretching the said saddlecloth over or upon a model,mould, or former, asphereinafter set forth.

Fourth, of a saddle-cloth of felt-ed material, provided with pads orcushions, which pads or cushions are made substantially as hereinafterset forth.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure l is aplan or diagram, illustratingthe method or process of forming the material from which the saddie-cloth is made.

Figure 2 representsJ au end view of the saine.

Figures 3 and 4 represent end views of modifications of the same. v

Figure 5 is a side view of my saddle-cloth, formed and completed readyfor use.

Figure 6 is a cross-section of the same, on the line x x, fig. 5. i

Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10, illustrate another modification of the methodor process.

The first step in the process of manufacture is to produce 'a bat orsheet of felt or partially-felted mate-4 rial, A, of the proper width,and of any desired practicable length, and of even or graduatedthickness, as preferred.

Two strips of non-felting material, B B, are then laid parallel to eachother,-and equidistant from a line drawn through the centre of the pieceAlongitudinally, and a second piece of felt or partially-felledmaterial, C, of the same size as the piece A, as seen in figs. l and 2,ornarrower, as seen in fig. A3, is laid upon the irst piece, A, and thetwo pieces, A and C, are firmly felted together` After the feltedmaterial is thus formed, and has become dry, the strips B B are drawnout, leaving slots or pockets.

If prefeired, a piece of non-felting material, sufficiently wide tocover both of the pieces B B, may be used instead o'f them, anda singleslotv or pocket be thus formed, as indicated in iig. 4. 4In this case,it would be necessary to sew up one side of each pocket or slot to formthe pad or cushion.

A double thickness or a tube of thin non-felting material may be laidinto the felted material, instead of the strips B B, and left in as alining, thereby increasing the strength of the slots or pockets..l

In the modication of the construction shown in figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10,tw'o strips, B B', are laid onthe piece A, a space or strip wide enoughto separate the pads to a sufficient distance being left between them,and a bat or" piece of feltiug-material, C', sufficiently wide to formsomewhat more than one side of each pad, and to cover the space betweenthem, is'laid on and felted down to the piece A, in the centre, as shownin figs. 8, 9, and 10.

By this means two laps, a a, are formed, and the pads are made byinserting elastic spongefhair, or'

other suitable substance, under the said flap, and sewing down the edge,as seen in g. l0, and also the ends of the pad. l

p The sheet of material being properly formed, as described, a piece,nearly of the shape and size vof the saddle-cloth, as seen in dottedlines in gl, i's cut out and stretched over a former while wet, by whichit is made to assume the shape of that portion of the back ofthe horse,over or upon which it is intended to fit.

The proper form may be given by cutting out apiece from the centre,somewhat in the form of an ellipse, but pointed at both ends, and sewingthe Aedges together' longitudinally; but I prefer to use a former,without cutting the centre of the cloth. y

After the cloth is formed, in either of the ways described, a suicientquantity of elastic sponge, curled hair, or other suitable material, isstuffed into the slots or pockets, as seen in figs. 1 and 2, or underthe flaps a a, and the ends, and, if necessary, the sides, arer seweddown firmly. v

By reference to iigs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the cloth, formed asdescribed, is Well adapted to accomplish the desired.object, being lightand cool at all parts, except where it is necessary to have the pads orcushions placed, and these latter', as' made, are strong, cheap, and innowise liable to shift their positions, or get out of order.

' By the use ofthe elastic sponge, the pads are effectually preventedfrom becoming packed and hard, as this substance Will not pack, but willalways recover at oncey from the effects of pressure, when such pressureis removed.

It has also the additional advantage of being much cheaper, and moreeffective in its action than curled hair or other substances, which haveheretofore been used for stuffing the pads or cushions.

The sheet, or piece of fclted material, ready to be cut up and made intosaddle-cloths, may be -sold to saddlersyand others, to be made up bythem, as the subsequent steps of the manufacture are simple and easilycarried out@ I do not claim, broadly, the forming of a feltedsaddle-cloth of any construction, by stretching the said cloth over aformer, to make it t properly over of upon the back of the horse', as Iam aware that this has been done for many years. Nor do I claim asaddie-cloth entirely of felt, and of graduated thickness, as such acloth is very difficult to make, expensive, and calculated to heat theback ofthe horse to an injurious degree.

Having thus fully described my invention,

1. The combination, in the process of manufacture, 'of non-feltingmaterial with the material from which the felt is made, as hereinabovedescribed, whereby flaps, slots, or pockets, are formed in or upon thefelt, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The saddle-cloth, provided with pads or cushions, as described, andconstructed substantially as and by themeans or method set forth.

RIGHD ALLISON.

Witnesses JAMES WESTON, S. l-I. HURD.

